Here we are then, back again with more of 'A Sea of Heroes'! And no, we haven't forgotten about the video for 'The Funny One' off of the new EP, but the video shoot's proving a bit harder to schedule than we initially thought, so we're going to continue with a couple of cover songs in the meanwhile.
We actually premiered this cover song in our live set just last Saturday. Fun fact: Tuukka hadn't even heard the original Mumford & Sons version before we played this version live, so I jokingly forbid him to listen to the original one at all. Most of you probably don't have that same problem, although 'Awake My Soul' was never a single as far as I know. But I feel that at a certain point a few years back there was just no way of escaping particularly the 'Sigh No More' record that this song is on. There was always someone raving on about that record, and yes I'll admit, deservedly so. It was and still is a brilliant album. I suppose you can debate all of the stuff released since, but that first one's just pure class. You can somehow hear that the record came together while touring pubs and small clubs and that the going might've gotten rough at times. Still they persisted with these awesome tunes, melodies and harmonies.
I remember stumbling upon them when I was trying to find an equally brilliant band and record as Midlake's 'The Courage of Others'. I'd seen them in the NME in some weird Amish get-up if I remember correctly and probably just dismissed them as another one of those "NME band of the week' kinda groups. But I don't know, somehow they stuck in my head and I just had to give them a spin, so I did and here we are.
Seen them live once, not in a small venue but an arena, sadly, but they were still brilliant. They're all incredible musicians which somehow is not the first thing you think about when you think of Mumford & Sons. But they're incredibly versatile and on point as a band. One of the best gigs I've seen, hands down.
We get compared to Mumford & Sons quite a bit on blogs and in reviews, and while I'm more than ready to concede an influence on tracks like 'Beggar Princess', they're still just one of a whole plethora of influences that we try and bring into our mix. But I take great pride in being compared to them, it's a badge of honour if you ask me!
I hope you like our version! I just started strumming the first chord you hear without knowing what I was playing and suddenly the first batch of lyrics came out. I couldn't quite remember how the song progressed after that "har-har" bit, so I took a look at the lyrics and had a crack at the whole song without listening to the original one, just looking at the lyrics. That's the reason the chorus is nothing like the original one and to be honest I can't even remember how the original song goes. I hope you find the thing interesting. It's certainly a lot of fun to play!
-Jon
P.S. Here's the original: